title: Isolation and infusion of donor CD34+ bone marrow cells in cadaver kidney transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infusion of donor bone marrow cells induces tolerance in allograft models. CD34+ stem cells present in human bone marrow could be endowed with tolerogenic properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  CD34+ stem cells were isolated from bone marrow extracted from vertebral bodies of cadaveric donors. Donor CD34+ cells (0.6-3.7 x 10(6)/kg) were infused during surgery in 10 kidney transplant recipients receiving OKT3 as induction therapy. Chimerism was investigated using nested PCR for donor-specific HLA alleles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The infusion of CD34+ stem cells was perfectly tolerated. Five patients remained free of acute rejection at follow-up, 47-325 days post-operatively. The five other patients underwent a single episode of corticosensitive acute rejection. Long-term chimerism was not induced in the seven patients investigated for the persistence of donor DNA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infusion of donor CD34+ stem cells in kidney transplantation is safe. The clinical usefulness of the procedure remains to be established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology-Dialysis-Transplantation, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Pauw
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Donckier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kornreich
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Destrée
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Demoor
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andrien
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lambermont
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis*; D002102:Cadaver; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34